Markings for Spitfire Mk.XVI High Back 1/48
TB752, S/Ldr Henry Zary, CO of No. 403 Squadron, B.114 Diepholz, Germany, April–May 1945
The Spitfire serial number TB752 was built by Vickers-Armstrong at the Castle Bromwich factory with elliptical wingtips and was handed over to No. 33 Maintenance Unit RAF Lyneham on February 21, 1945. The first combat unit with which TB752 served was No. 66 Squadron in March 1945, where it received the fuselage code LZ-F. On March 25, 1945, it suffered damage to its wing and propeller during an emergency landing, which was repaired by No. 409 RSU. On April 19, 1945, the repaired TB752, this time with clipped wingtips, was transferred to a new operational combat unit, No. 403 Squadron. There it received the codes KH-Z and became the favorite aircraft of No. 403 Squadron commander S/Ldr Henry Zary. On his very first flight with TB752, Zary shot down one Bf 109 on April 21, scoring five confirmed victories and becoming an ace. On April 25, he destroyed one Me 262 and one Ju 88 during strafing attack on German airfield with TB752. Other No. 403 Squadron pilots achieved notable successes in the cockpit of TB752 in the last days of the war. For example, on April 25, P/O D. Leslie shot down one Fw 189, on May 1 F/O R. Young shot down an Fw 190 and on May 3 F/O Fred Town sent down a He 111. Shortly after the war, the TB752 propeller cone received a red, white and blue paint job and the code letters KH-Z were given black outlines. In 1955 TB752 was moved to Manston where it stood for many years on a pedestal at the airport entrance gate. In 1978 the Medway branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society offered to refurbish it and on July 7 was TB752 transferred to Rochester Airport. On September 15, 1979, following a successful refurbishment, TB752 returned to Manston in the livery of No. 403 Squadron.
SM403, F/O Gordon M. Hill, No. 416 Squadron, B.56 Evere, Belgium, December 1944
In mid-December 1944, No. 416 Squadron was rearmed from Mk.IX Spitfires to the all-new Mk.XVIE ones. One of the first of the newly delivered Spitfires was an aircraft with serial number SM403 with a shortened wingspan, which subsequently received the code letters DN-S. When SM403 was taken by F/O Gordon Hill for a flight test to see how the new Spitfire performed, the name “Sweet Sixteen” stuck with him upon landing and he had it painted on the tank cover of his new Spitfire by ground staff. According to his personal recollections, the “Sweet Sixteen” was his favorite Spitfire. Hill’s first combat mission with the new SM403 was a patrol of twelve “Sixteen’s” on Christmas Day 1944 over the Malmedy-Houffalize area. By December 31, 1944, No. 416 Squadron had flown 73 combat sorties on patrols and sweeps and claimed a kill on an Fw 190. By the end of World War II, No. 416 Squadron had then flown 2,040 combat sorties with its “sixteens” as part of No. 127 Wing, adding to its wartime total of 75 confirmed kills the amount of enemy ground equipment destroyed.
TB349, F/Lt Malcom J. Gordon, No. 421 Squadron, B.90 Petit Brogel, Belgium, February–April 1945
Malcolm “Mac” Gordon was very proud of his Spitfire which bore a long unintelligible inscription “Chinawattakamapoosekinapee” on the left side of the engine cowling. The story of this strange inscription took place one evening over a few beers when Mac and Bill Marshall decided to come up with a name for Mac’s Spitfire. As the night wore on and the beer consumption increased, the name got longer and longer. The red Indian emblem on the left side of the engine cowling depicts the logo of the McColl Frontenac Oil Company, which sponsored No. 421 Squadron. “Mac” Gordon achieved a total of five kills during his wartime career in the cockpit of several Spitfires with Nos. 403 and 421 Squadron and received the DFC.
RR227, S/Ldr Otto Smik, No. 127 Squadron, B.60 Grimbergen, Belgium, November 1944
When No. 127 Squadron was rearmed with Spitfires Mk.XVI in early November 1944, Otto Smik DFC became its new commander on November 13. He had the honor of becoming one of only three Czechoslovaks to command a British squadron. Unfortunately, Smik’s command was short-lived. He was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery during an attack on Zwolle station on November 28, 1944 and did not survive an emergency landing with his difficult-to-control aircraft. Smik chose the serial number RR227 as his personal Spitfire for No. 127 Squadron. Unfortunately, the appearance of his aircraft is not documented photographically. Earlier sources state that the fuselage designation may have been 9N-B or 9N-R, but new research confirms that both the fuselage letters B and R were worn by Spitfires of a different serial number at the time. Among the first newly delivered Spitfires to No. 127 Squadron after Smik’s death was an aircraft that received the letter N. It is thus very likely that Smik also took his favorite letter N for No. 127 Squadron as he did during his time in the ranks of Czechoslovak No. 310 and No. 312 Squadrons. Smik also painted the symbols of kills on his planes in various forms, the flag of the Squadron commander cannot be completely ruled out, nor can the presence of the Czechoslovak cockade. S/Ldr Otto Smik was the most successful Czechoslovak pilot fighting in Spitfires, in their cockpits he achieved eleven confirmed kills of enemy aircraft and destroyed three V-1 missiles.
F/Lt Gordon M. Braidwood, No. 322 Squadron, B.106 Twente, Netherlands, April 1945
No. 322 Squadron was formed at Woodvale in June 1943 by renumbering No. 167 squadron, which had in its staffing a high proportion of Dutch pilots. In December 1943 it moved south to Hawkinge with its Spitfires Mk.V. In March it moved to Acklington where it was rearmed with the all-new and powerful Spitfires Mk.XIV with Griffon engines. As part of the West Malling Wing, the unit was deployed during the V-1 missile offensive against southern England in early June, and by the end of August the pilots of No. 322 Squadron had succeeded in destroying 108.5 V-1 missiles. When the threat ended in August, the unit was rearmed to Spitfires LF Mk.IX. Rearmament to Spitfires Mk.XVIe followed in November, and in early 1945 the unit moved to Belgium to join the Norwegian No. 132 Wing. Here, as part of the 2nd TAF, it mostly carried out support attacks on German ground and air equipment until the end of the war. One of the most successful pilots was British A Flight Commander, F/Lt G. M. Braidwood, who was credited with five aircraft destroyed and seven damaged while strafing German airfields.
TB520, W/Cdr Donald G. Andrews, CO of Coltishall Wing, RAF Matlaske, United Kingdom, March–May 1945
Australian “Don” Andrews, a native of Queensland, joined the RAAF in November 1940. He trained in Canada and sailed to the UK. In November 1941 he was posted to No. 615 (County of Surrey) Squadron and six weeks later to No. 245 (Northern Rhodesia) Squadron, with which he remained until July 1942 when he joined No. 175 Squadron as Squadron Leader. He was then transferred to No. 453 (RAAF) Squadron where he initially commanded A Flight and in September took over the whole Squadron and received a DFC. He remained in command of No. 453 (RAAF) Squadron until the end of his tour in May 1944. After retirement he took over the Coltishall Wing in February 1945 as supernumerary, supervising two Australian Spitfire squadrons (Nos. 451 and 453 Squadron). In April he was given command of the Biggin Hill Wing. He left the wing in June, was repatriated in September and retired from RAF service in April 1946. During his wartime career he achieved one confirmed kill, one probable kill and damaged three enemy aircraft. All his personal aircraft were decorated with a drawing of a “Gremlin” figure holding a sign on the nose reading “You Have Been Warned”.